Legendary moonshiner Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, 61, of Haywood County was arrested and charged with making moonshine in March 2008. He faces three charges related to the manufacture and possession of selling untaxed whiskey and one charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison on the firearms count and up to 5 years in prison for each of the moonshining counts. He faces up to a $250,000 fine on each count, according to the news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
This government affidavit outlines how undercover government agents met with Sutton several times to buy liquor. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
On April 3, 2008, Sutton signed a plea agreement with the government. The document explains how an undercover agent bought hundreds of gallons of illegal liquor from Sutton. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
On Aug. 15, 2008, the federal government filed a sentencing memo in Sutton’s case, asking the federal judge to impose a sentence that reflects the seriousness of his crime. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
Sutton, 61, faces jail time that could add up to a life sentence. His defense attorneys have been asking friends and supporters to sign a petition which states in part: “Considering his basic nature, age and significant medical problems, we ask the court to consider leniency in sentencing Popcorn.” People from all over the region, including a few from Asheville, have signed. Click here to download a PDF document showing part of the petition.
thats total horseshit! Free Popcorn! He didnt do them fuckers no harm!
hang in there popcorn, iam doing all i can to help you…bashful brotherslope
Hi I think popcorn sutton is part of the smokey mountain history and should be able to make his likker. My great great great grandfather made moonshine and its been in the family for years and a long as there is life around the smokey mountains and foothills there will always be moonshine here that’s apart of our life’s.
Let him go . I never saw or heard of him standing in front of a school handing out free samples to our children. Leave the man alone ang after some real crooks.
Hi just wanted to say the law should leave popcorn alone this man is not a law breaker, he’s payed his taxes on the copper he used and the jars and even on the corn he used. Looks to me like the law would be out running down these dope heads that stuff kills your brain cells and likker don’t do that. I have drink likker all my life. This likker maker’s will be here as long as there is life here in these mountains. the law needs to leave this man alone and let him be.
Popcorn you are my Hero wish you best of luck.
but it’s ok for the damn gas company to make moonshine for gas to put in cars….. it makes my car run like shit!!!!!!!!!! now the key word here is “untaxed ” the fbi and cops around the world need to go after ppl that need to be in jail…… oh my bad thay seen him on tv they cant catch anyone with out help….. FREE POPCORN
bye you ol’ fool
Wonder how many ppl he killed or made sick with that junk. Poor” moonshiner my a@@, he had to have money to buy all the fixins and made a bundle sellin it. quit romanizing the old fart
PISS OFF HOLL POPCORN WAS A LEGEND HE DIDNT HURT ANYONE IF YOU WANNA SEE THE REAL PISS ON’ GO TO THE PRISONS AND LOOK AT ALL THE DRUG DEALERS THAT HAVE KILLED COUNTLESS KIDS AND ADULTS WITH THERE BAD JUNK OR JUNK IN GENERAL SUCH AS CRACK ICE AND SO ON POPCORNS SHIT WAS PURE AS UNDRIVEN SNOW SO PISS OFF AND KEEP YOUR COMMENTS TO YOURSELF NO ONE ASKED FOR ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY
God rest Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, all I have to say is look at all the laws our own judges, politicians and the rich break on a daily basis and look how they never get a fitting punishment for their crimes. Since they are all crooks in one way or another lining their pockets with illegal or blood money or crookedly obtained finances of some kind and then there fellow judges and or political friends let them off the hook with a bull crap sentence if they got caught breaking the law in any way, that in no way would a normal working class person get in this country if he committed the same crime or did the same thing. Then to top it off they drove a 61 year old American man not hurting any person and trying to just get by doing what he learned from his own heritage to get by in life with, and then to take his own life due to their power obsessive, money hungry and controlling ways. I say the judge in this case should be charged with murder for killing a 61 year old man by driving him to do what he did to himself knowing he would not survive in prison a place he did not deserve to be sent to for what he did, he was not a violent criminal in any way. Now because of our government and their double standard ways toward the normal working class citizens of this beautiful country and the so called rich upper class “not so elite in my eyes” people of this country I have this to say, Long live the Boston Tea Party Memory and original revolution of this country and the reason it happened, what we did against England and for what reasons. Let us not forget and not let our government do the same thing to us now, the sooner the people of this country get tired of the governments bull crap and get enough back bone to stand up for their rights the better for us all..Remember this my fellow countrymen “OUR RIGHT” to own and bear arms was guaranteed and given to us and guaranteed to us through our Constitution of these United States for a reason, so we would not be afraid of our government but to make sure our government stays afraid of the people of the great land and their right to bear arms so as to keep them from doing to us what England tried to do to us, that being over taxing us and over control of the people unjustly as is happening today. Think about these things for starters we are not allowed to have a poker game in our homes for any money but the states can have lotto’s that they tax by over 40%, Prostitution is illegal unless you do it in Nevada where our government gets taxes off the sexual acts and then it is alright, prohibition stopped all liquor from being made and sold but as soon as a tax stamp was put on a bottle it was ok then and prohibition was over then the government was getting what it wanted that being a large tax on every bottle of whisky made and sold, the same for cigarettes and any other very large money making product, next it will be pot and as we all know, it is almost there now since in a few states it is already legal in some way. The moral bearing of these items does not even come close to our Governments greed for the tax dollars it will generate for them. So now ask yourself this. Is our government out for our well being or the most tax dollars it can get from us, all as subjects to it’s continuous wrong doings and immoral as well as illegal acts it commits?…
The conservative thinking and intestinal fortitude
of our forefathers ended with victory in world war one and two.Since then, we have endured one sniveling cry baby left wing socialist after another. We have allowed 12.85 percent of the population (Ref. CIA World Fact Book) To control the behavior of the majority of the population. Wake up America or follow the Greek and Roman Empire
into oblivion.USA is being lead by marxist Bastards!
I HAVE BEEN RUNNIN A STILL FOR 2 YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE TILL THE DAY I DIE. I GROW MY OWN CORN AND MY OWN INGREDIENTS 100% TAX FREE. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO IN SPITE OF YOU MONEY HUNGRY PIECES OF SHIT. GOT DRUG DEALERS LIVIN ALL OVER THE PLACE AND YOU DONT DO A DAMN THING BOUT THAT. BUT THE GOOD LORD KNOWS THATS JUST CAUSE YOU WONT GO AFTER ANYONE WITH THE POTENTIAL TO GO AFTER YOU. SO GO AHEAD AND PICK ON TRADITION INSTEAD OF GO AFTER THE REAL CRIMINALS. POPCORN IS THE HERO. YOU PIECES A SHIT ARE NEVER GONNA DO ANYTHING USEFULL BESIDE STUFF YOUR POCKETS THE EASY WAY. SO ME AND POPCORN SAYS FUCK YOU!
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RIP POPCORN